The fine folks over at Fulcrum Publishing are offering a giveaway for my book, Modern Homestead. All you need to do is comment on their blog or Facebook page offering one of your best homesteading tips. Tonight at the dinner table I was talking with Jay about how I approach moving into new digs. Step one is to set up a compost system. The compost

An herb garden is usually the first thing I plant at a new home. This is the perfect time of year to plant cuttings because the weather will stay mild for several more months. Their root systems should be fairly well-established by summertime, so they should be fairly self-sufficient. What looks like an empty, barren part of the front yard is actually a patch of

Okay, not totally. But after the first few days of moving into New York for the summer, I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stand to have a perfectly sunny windowsill sitting empty. And fresh herbs from the grocery store never last as long as I want them too. So I have the beginnings of a windowsill herb garden. Super simple – a basil planted in

It was about a year and a half ago that I helped my mom with a barren area of her yard by planting an herb garden. The back flower bed along the fence was full of weeds and she was very reluctant to plant anything. She was nervous about watering and any maintenance. Her soil is pretty heavy clay and there can be standing water

Before leaving our house in Portland, I took a few snapshots of projects that have been allowed to grow. Remember when I found that ugly old brass dog kennel fencing? I took it apart and hung it on the outside of our house, hoping to the train the rose there to climb up the fencing. That post was written last Fall. After a few months

I have always found it challenging to be a container gardener without spending loads of cash on pretty pots, but as time goes on I find myself becoming more resourceful with what could make a good plant home. One of the latest spontaneous containers uses an old plastic nursery pot. The japanese maple we received as a gift came in the large container and it

This weekend I have been contributing to the world of garden karma. Sometimes we take, and sometimes we give back. I spent two lovely, brisk autumn days giving back but walked off with more than I had walking in. Yesterday I spent a few hours at my lovely friend Denise’s house out in St Johns shoveling three cubic yards of bark dust. We really blew

As the holidays approach, this is the perfect time to replenish the spice cabinet with some dried, homegrown herbs. I cut some of the perennials way back towards the end of summer and they have been patiently hanging on our covered porch to dry for a few weeks now. Things like sage, rosemary, thyme, chives, oregano, etc go fast at our house in the winter

“There are no worthless herbs, only the lack of knowledge.” -Chinese saying I’m sick and spent most of the day laying in bed trying to rest. On a sunny day, it pains me to be so incredibly unproductive. But I’ve had a mild fever and shaky body, so I don’t exactly have much choice. I tend to avoid taking any medications unless things get unbearable.

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Hello homesteader! I'm Renee Wilkinson and this is where I've chronicled my adventures in homesteading since 2007. Here you will find 1,000+posts on modern homestead projects, edible landscape design and the occasional life update. Read More…